State Briefs 4/24/09

ROCKFORD – AirFest 2009 will be one of only six events in the world to showcase the nation’s most advanced fighter plane this year.

A U.S. Air Force F-22A Raptor, which features parts built locally by Hamilton Sundstrand and Woodward Governor, will headline this year’s event, Chicago Rockford International Airport officials announced Friday morning.

After four years of alternating between the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, this is the first time AirFest will host a solo headliner. This year’s AirFest is Aug. 22 and 23.

Other performers will be announced closer to AirFest.

Rockford Register Star

Man pleads guilty in botched home invasion that led to teen's death

STILLMAN VALLEY — A 19-year-old man pegged as the ringleader behind a fatal home invasion that claimed the life of a 14-year-old boy in April 2008, pleaded guilty Thursday to home invasion, a Class X felony, and involuntary manslaughter, a Class 3 felony.

In exchange for the guilty pleas from Cody Wayne Moore, the Ogle County State’s Attorney’s Office dismissed charges of felony murder and residential burglary.

Under Illinois law, if a person commits a forcible felony and a person dies during the commission of that crime, the living offenders are legally responsible for the death. This is true even if the defendants did not perform the physical acts that killed the victim.

The charges and plea stem from a botched home invasion that occurred on April 6, 2008, on North Meridian Road. Moore drove Travis Castle, 14, of Durand and the other two teens to what they thought was an unoccupied house in Stillman Valley to steal weapons.

Ogle County Sheriff Gregory Beitel said Castle encountered a houseguest and pointed a gun at him. The houseguest, who was also armed, fired two shots at Castle. The first shot grazed his neck, the second struck him in the chest and killed him.

Rockford Register Star

Thousands of hogs killed in fire

LITTLETON – An estimated 2,800 sows and an undetermined number of baby pigs died Wednesday after fire ravaged two hog buildings in rural Schuyler County.

Littleton firefighters were called to the Timberline LLC hog farm just after 7:30 p.m. Wednesday after a passer-by spotted smoke. Six other area fire departments then responded to help extinguish the blaze, which was visible for many miles in any direction.

The farm is in northern Schuyler County between Industry and Rushville.

The buildings, four in all, are owned by a group of farmers from Missouri, Illinois and Iowa. The group is under contract with Carthage Veterinary Service to manage the location.

On Thursday, Dr. Bill Hollis of the veterinary service said two of the four buildings on the property were saved from fire. Typically, about 5,600 sows are kept at the site, and Hollis said about half were killed in the fire.

Peoria Journal Star

Missing mushroom hunter found

KARBERS RIDGE – Law enforcement located a Mattoon man Thursday night who became lost in the Shawnee National Forest while mushroom hunting.

Mark W. Guard, 32, and Leslie L. Harlin, 34, said they arrived in the Karbers Ridge area about 10 a.m. and became separated at about 6 p.m., according to a release from Saline County Sheriff Keith Brown.

The two were in an area between Garden of the Gods and High Knob in southwestern Gallatin County. Rescuers found Guard at about 11 p.m.

Guard said he became turned around in the forest and when it got dark he made a fire and waited. He was not injured.

Harrisburg Daily Register

Three injured, multiple buildings and vehicles damaged in crash

PEORIA — Two buildings and six vehicles were damaged during a bizarre crash Friday afternoon in central Peoria.

A man who is believed to have suffered a seizure was driving a white Chevy Caprice southbound on Knoxville Avenue just before 1 p.m. The car veered off the road and scraped the side of an AT&T building, then reversed course across four lanes of traffic, crossing a parking lot and ramming into the side of a Circle K Gas Station.

Five other cars were struck by the Caprice, which stopped after hitting the gas station building and breaking out a large window.

Three people were taken from the scene by ambulance with what appeared to be minor injuries.

Peoria police Sgt. Danny Swain said several people at the scene said it appeared the driver was having a seizure. Police did not immediately identify the driver or the other two people who were loaded into ambulances.

Peoria Journal Star

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